Does the future need us?

Humans are currently the most intelligent species on the planet, with computers and machines becoming more intelligent will there be a time when machines can match our capabilities, and even exceed our capabilities.
And when that time comes, will being a normal human being be enough?
Will humans need to compete with machines, and can we ultimately win against a machine who is beyond our capabilities.

Machines are already beyond our physical capabilities and in many areas different machines are beyond a normal human's mental capability. Do we need to compete?

Mar 18 2011:
In response to the question- "will being a normal human being be enough?"

While machines are making advances in terms of both physical capabilities and AI, people are advancing as well. 400 years ago Calculus was invented one of the most brilliant men on the planet. Now it is taught to 17 year olds (and younger) who spend an hour a night on Facebook.

Also- we choose how advanced the machines are. If we get to the point where we can create machines capable of replacing us on an intellectual and emotional level I would think we would be smart enough to NOT DO THAT (or rather only do that on a very limited scale).

But from a more interesting perspective- what is the big deal if intelligent emotional machines replace us in the future? For what absolute proof do you have that the man standing next to you at the store is not a cyborg? I know that as far as I am concerned- the differences between me and the person next to me amount to SIGNIFICANTLY more than the atomic structure of the sentient being in question (ie carbon versus silicone based).

summarized:
humans advance too
cyborgs and humans could be one in the same
we can choose to limit their capabilities

Mar 18 2011:
Truthfully, I am not worried about robots taking over the world, even if there some form of increase in AI, i think it will be very gradual and not take us by surprise. I think that humans themselves will indulge for their natural greed to have more physical and mental capabilities.

Mar 19 2011:
What if we will merge with intelligent machines? We could add memory and processors into our brain or have a dedicated AI circuits in our bodies? Then it is not a question about us vs. them but rather about how we integrate them with our consciousness.

Mar 18 2011:
maybe some machines are beyond our phisical and mental abilities but they aren't beyond our ability of being concious and thus they will never but will never exceed us ...........we don't have need to compete , we create them (another concious propriety)

Mar 18 2011:
Computers are dumb. Their actions depend solely on the commands of the programmer.

Imagine a monkey that just sits around waiting for you to tell it what to do. You finally give the monkey a command, and the monkey carries out that exact command, nothing more. When finished, the monkey returns to a sitting position and commences to just sit and wait for the next command. Does it sound like we would need to compete with that monkey?

That is the extent of what current computers are capable of.

TED Conversations Archives

We’ve spent three years sharing Ideas, Debates and Questions — and learned a lot.

Now we’re going on hiatus to retool and rebuild from the inside out for a better conversation experience.